BALASORE: If you thought cement was used for preparing fly ash bricks, this would definitely come as a shock. Many fly ash brick-manufacturing units in Balasore and Bhadrak districts are allegedly using fertiliser to make low-cost bricks and that too at the cost of poor farmers.Sources said the brick unit owners are lifting the subsidised fertiliser provided by the Government for farmers and using it as an input instead of cement to make bricks. The major input is fly ash.The irregularity came to the fore after a group of farmers complained about shortage of gypsum fertiliser. They claimed that the village agriculture workers (VAWs) in connivance with the dealers were supplying Phospho Gypsum fertiliser to the brick units for easy bucks.An investigation revealed that the fertiliser which costs around ` 65 per 50-kg bag in the open market is supplied to the farmers at a subsidised price of ` 14.50. However, the VAWs and dealers allegedly sell them for ` 35 to ` 50 a bag to the brick units. While Balasore district was supplied 2,165 MT of gypsum fertiliser between December 2011 and March 12, a farmer Debabrata Mahapatra of Simulia area alleged that the VAW gave them only one bag at a cost of ` 20, claiming non-availability. “We were surprised to see hundreds of bags of fertiliser being sold to brick units at double the cost. We demand stringent action against the VAWs and other officials involved,” he demanded. People associated with fly ash brick business said bricks prepared from gypsum and ash cost less compared to the ones made of cement and ash. While gypsum bricks are priced at ` 4,000 for 1,000 bricks, the cement bricks are sold for anything between ` 4,200 and ` 4,500. The units, using gypsum, often lure the gullible purchaser (who does not know that gypsum has been used instead of cement) saying they are giving them discounts and make huge profits. Besides, the purchaser inadvertently drags himself into the risk, as there is still a question mark on the longevity and quality of the gypsum-ash bricks.While the owner of a fly ash brick unit at Ranital, Sambhu Gupta, declined comment, a labourer admitted that the unit had procured 900 bags of gypsum fertiliser from Maitapur panchayat. Meanwhile, the agriculture authorities said an inquiry would be conducted into the allegation.Collector Akhila Bihari Ota said he had asked the Deputy Director of Agriculture (DDA) to inquire and submit a report in two days. “Stringent action will be taken against the guilty,” he assured.
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